The present invention relates to satellite communication, and more particularly relates to regulation of access to satellite communication signals via electronic means responsive to geographic reference signals.
In the past, network television signals were only receivable by viewers receiving signals broadcast from terrestrial transmitters at distributed network affiliate stations. As a result, in years past, many remote and rural areas of the U.S. had either no, or very limited, access to network television service. With the advent of satellite communications, many of these remote viewers are now able to receive network programming; however, many of the networks would like to restrict the availability of these signals to only those customers in locations which are unable to receive signals broadcast from network affiliate stations. The difficulty in meeting the networks"" desires is increased by the fact that today, more and more homes and business are located in remote areas and further, by the use of television satellite receivers on recreational vehicles which are able to move in and out of remote areas.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and apparatuses for determining and regulating the availability of access to satellite communication signals.
It is an object of the present invention to provide enhanced abilities to quickly and easily regulate access to satellite communication signals.
It is a feature of the present invention to include an apparatus for determining a geographic reference point for a particular satellite customer.
It is an advantage of the present invention to achieve a more accurate assessment of the quality of terrestrial broadcast signals at a particular location.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a real time determination of access to satellite communication signals.
It is another feature of the present invention to include a geographic reference point for a particular location.
It is another feature of the present invention to include a GPS receiver for generating geographic reference points for a mobile satellite receiver.
It is another object of the present invention to provide low cost determination of the availability of access to satellite communication signals.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to include a distributed processing system.
It is another advantage of the present invention to reduce cost by using existing computing resources and a central location for application specific resources.
It is another object of the present invention to provide wide accessibility to resources for determining access to satellite communication signals.
It is another feature of the invention to utilize computer networks, such as the Internet, for interconnecting several components of a distributed system.
The present invention is a method and apparatus for determining and regulating the access to satellite communication signals based upon a determination of a geographic position for a potential satellite signal receiver, which is designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated objects, include the above-listed features and achieve the already articulated advantages. In the present invention, the time required, the difficulty and the expense associated with accurately regulating access to satellite communication signals have been reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention is a method and apparatus for determining and regulating access to satellite communication signals by reference to a geographic determination of the location of a potential satellite receiver and a generation of a signal representative of a signal strength of terrestrially broadcast television signals at a particular location.